Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for one Liverpool player despite the Reds’ aggregate defeat to Atalanta on Thursday evening in the UEFA Europa League.
Jurgen Klopp watched his side bow out of Europe for the very last time on Thursday. Liverpool did win on the night, beating Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo, but it wasn’t enough.
The 3-0 defeat at Anfield last week left the Reds in a near-impossible position. However, they did offer hope early on.
Mohamed Salah converted a penalty inside seven minutes that really should have set up a charge from Liverpool. It never really came, though – just two second-half shots, if you want a particularly damning statistic.
But it really did look bright for a bit. That was particularly down to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who started his first game in over two months here.
He dominated the first half with his passing, consistently tearing Atalanta open and taking advantage of their man-marking. Liverpool were in behind again and again – they just never took advantage.
No Reds completed more passes in the first 45, but that really undersells it. Jurgen Klopp put it
“How he started the game was absolutely insane,” Klopp said about Alexander-Arnold after the game. “They had no idea how to defend that.”
Atalanta really didn’t and the Scouser was on another level to everyone else on the pitch. And that’s with him being half-fit.
Klopp went on to admit that Alexander-Arnold struggled for fitness as the game went off and needed to take him off in the second half. In truth, his impact had waned by then as he slowed down.
But it’s a positive sign for the title charge, certainly. Liverpool will need to lean on Alexander-Arnold if they’re to make anything happen over the next few weeks.
Once he’s fully-fit, his impact could be enormous – maybe even game-changing for the side.
